Alan Ritchson wants to play Solid Snake in a Metal Gear Solid movie

Rising off the success of Reacher and the Netflix hit War Machine, Alan Ritchson has become a bankable action star and says his dream role would be Solid Snake in a Metal Gear Solid movie. The original Metal Gear Solid game from 1998 cast players as Solid Snake infiltrating a remote nuclear weapons disposal facility to neutralize a renegade special forces unit.

The game is cinematic, with a complicated plot, strong voice work and movie-like cutscenes. Creator Hideo Kojima is a cinephile, and the project has been discussed since 2006 — Oscar Isaac was attached in 2020, and in 2024 Derek Connolly reportedly rewrote the script while Kojima eyed Tom Burke — but the movie has yet to come together.

Ritchson has shown a knack for hardened military and ex-military roles, from Jack Reacher to Staff Sergeant 81, and his action skills and charisma make him a natural fit. He’s a little taller than Snake in the games — 6'3 vs 6'0 — but that didn’t stop Tom Cruise from playing the 6'5 Jack Reacher.

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